Sidebar

Kent Longbow Tournament, 2007

Neil Turville.

The Kent Longbow Tournament was hosted again this year by Gravesend Archers on Sunday, 20 May at their ground at Meopham School. The day was sunny and dry, but a cool wind at times made sure that all competitors had to keep their concentration.

With 66 archers of all ages taking part, this was one of the best attendances for some years. The longbow has been gaining in popularity for some years now, and nowhere more so that in the South East; in Kent it is often seen as an enjoyable way of taking part in the sport without some of the seriousness and pressure often associated with the more "high-tech" modern bows.

All archers competed over a Double National round, that is to say they all shot 4 dozen arrows at 60 yards plus 2 dozen at 50 yards during the morning, then after a well-earned lunch they did it all over again in the afternoon. The winners were then decided on the combined results of the two sessions, using the traditional longbow method:

first place going to the archer with the greatest number of hits,

second place to the person with the highest score (after excluding the first place winner)

and third place going to the archer with the highest number of golds (after excluding the first and second place winners);

everyone else then ranked according to score.

Thanks go to our judge, Richard Warren, for helping to keep everything running smoothly, to Gravesend Archers for the use of their ground and equipment and especially to Neil Turville for organising such an enjoyable and successful tournament.